Chapter 10: The House on Golden Avenue

Upon hearing Wang Zhao’s words, Li Zhenguan’s complexion worsened.

At the table earlier, Wang Zhao had obviously not eaten much either. He had originally endured the discomfort and taken a bite, but the nausea surged up, forcing him to make a trip to the restroom. After that, he couldn’t eat anymore.

When Wang Zhao said these two words to him, he momentarily thought she was fed up with him, falling into self-blame.

However, Wang Zhao hadn’t noticed yet. She walked ahead carrying the takeout box, settled the bill at the front desk, and took a few steps out of the restaurant before turning her head to glance at Li Zhenguan.

She found that his expression was off, his face somewhat deathly pale.

“What’s wrong?” Wang Zhao stopped and asked softly, “Still not feeling well?”

Li Zhenguan lowered his head without speaking. His fingers moved, wanting to hold Wang Zhao’s hand, but not daring to reach out.

Wang Zhao stood opposite him, unable to see the emotions in the man’s eyes. Her brows furrowed slightly, suppressing the faint annoyance in her heart, her voice still gentle.

Right now, her treatment of Li Zhenguan was mostly out of responsibility. Although he fit her aesthetic tastes, the excessive trouble still made her a bit uncomfortable.

“I didn’t consider it thoroughly just now. You’re exactly three months along, the period when morning sickness is most active.”

“Let’s go, we’ll talk more after going downstairs.” She said.

Hearing this, Li Zhenguan glanced at the woman and nodded, the paleness on his face fading.

In the elevator, Wang Zhao spoke, “I didn’t eat my fill either. Besides Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, what else do you want to eat?”

She added, “Anything too heavy won’t be considered. Before leaving, your uncle specifically reminded me to pay attention to your diet. Plus, you have a prenatal checkup tomorrow morning.”

After getting in the car, she put the takeout box in the back seat. Only then did Li Zhenguan say softly that he wanted to eat noodles.

This surprised her a bit.

“What kind of noodles?”

“Clear soup silver thread vegetable noodles.” Li Zhenguan was a little embarrassed. He said, “A Sichuan snack.”

“I just suddenly wanted to eat it.” After saying this, he glanced at Wang Zhao again. But there was no expression on Wang Zhao’s face as she nodded while checking her phone, looking serious. His eyelashes fluttered a few times, clearly a bit disappointed.

However, Wang Zhao didn’t notice at this time. She sat in the car and checked her phone, finding a noodle shop not far from her home that happened to have a dish with that exact name. She breathed a sigh of relief.

She was afraid that if they delayed any longer, it would be dark.

After finding this nearby noodle shop, she asked Li Zhenguan and then drove over.

This trip took over an hour. The noodle shop was a very small restaurant. Wang Zhao was a bit worried at first, after all, Li Zhenguan was a pregnant male. But upon seeing that although small, the restaurant was quite clean, the furrow between her brows eased a little.

However, she still decided that next time for a date, she needed to be more considerate and try to avoid eating out as much as possible. Li Zhenguan looked quite delicate.

By the time they finished eating, it was already very late. The original plan to watch a movie was also canceled, because pregnant men needed to sleep early. Staying up late was bad for the body.

Despite the pregnant man’s objections, she directly sent Li Zhenguan home. It was already past 7pm by then. When she got home, it was 8 o’clock.

She replied to Li Zhenguan’s message, saying she had arrived home. As soon as she opened the door, she heard movement from the living room.

Wang Xuechun and Zhang Ke were sitting in the living room watching TV. Almost as soon as they heard the noise at the door, they looked over, clearly waiting for her. Otherwise, the two of them would have long returned to their room.

“Dropped Zhenguan off at home?” Wang Xuechun inquired.

Wang Zhao nodded.

Only then did Wang Xuechun grunt in acknowledgment, not knowing what else to say. The child had grown up, and she was habitually lacking in the role she played in Wang Zhao’s life, unable to say certain things.

Instead, Father Wang smiled and waved. “Zhao, come here for a moment. We have something to tell you.”

Wang Zhao didn’t understand what it was about but still walked over and sat on the single sofa in the living room. At this moment, she lifted her eyes and saw a box placed on the coffee table in front of her, looking quite old, seeming to have some age.

The box was already open, with some things inside, appearing to be storing some contract documents.

She had a certain guess in her heart and couldn’t help but look at the two people sitting on the sofa.

“Your father and I discussed and decided to tell you about the family’s situation.” Wang Xuechun spoke up at this time.

“These are the savings your father and I have accumulated over the years. There’s only about 300,000 to 400,000 yuan in cash in the bank. The rest, your father and I bought some financial products like funds, some of which can’t be withdrawn for now. The family has two properties. Besides the one we’re living in now, there’s another one over on Golden Avenue.”

Wang Zhao looked at Wang Xuechun and Zhang Ke, falling silent for a moment. Even though she was a newcomer, without the many years of familial affection the original owner had with her parents, she was still quite moved at this moment.

In her silence, Father Wang also noticed his daughter’s expression. He smiled. “This isn’t all the savings your mother and I have taken out either. You don’t need to worry. We old folks have still kept some pension for ourselves. When we’re old, we won’t need you to take care of us. Your mother and I aren’t so useless as to rely on your situation.”

“You’re about to start a family. Zhenguan’s family is well-off. You young people nowadays don’t like living with your parents. When you get married, you’ll definitely move out. Take some time to look at the house on Golden Avenue. As for how to decorate it, discuss it with Zhenguan then. If you don’t want to live there, that’s fine too. You two young people can discuss it.”

“But you’re a woman after all. Our side will definitely have to bear the brunt. We can’t let the Li family have any grievances.” Zhang Ke said, “We’ve done what we should on our end. Your mother and I have only saved this much over the years. The rest is up to you two to work hard for.”

Wang Xuechun told her the passwords for a few bank cards and passbooks. “The property deed for the house on Golden Avenue is in your name. There’s about 200,000 yuan between these two bank cards. You’re starting a family now, you can’t be without some money on hand. But don’t spend recklessly. Your mother and I are quite reassured about your character. As for the rest, it’s still with your father and me. You just need to have a rough idea of the family savings.”

Parents all over the world are probably the same. Those who don’t love their daughters and sons are still a minority. Even if the world has changed and yin and yang have reversed, parents’ love for their children will never change.

Wang Zhao still accepted the two bank cards. She only had about 70,000 to 80,000 on hand now. If she got married and Li Zhenguan gave birth to that child, it would be a huge expense.

Raising a child costs much more than raising an adult. Li Zhenguan was still a child himself, so in the end, it would still fall on her. The bit of money the original owner left behind wouldn’t even make a splash if thrown in.

However, out of the money given by her foster parents, she only planned to keep 30,000 on hand and invest the rest. Wang Zhao discovered that she seemed to have some financial investment knowledge. The original owner was also making investments and had bought 60,000 to 70,000 worth of financial products, earning a good amount of money in two years.

Most of the original owner’s money was from scholarships and part-time salaries while in school, always saved and rarely spent. Who would have thought it would benefit her?

But then again, this wasn’t really benefiting her, after all, the child she was raising was the original owner’s, not hers.

Despite thinking this way, after returning to her room, Wang Zhao still couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. The two bank cards under her pillow seemed to dig into her a little.

Actually, ever since transmigrating to this world, she had never known how to get along with the original owner’s parents. So apart from eating or sleeping, most of the time she didn’t stay at home.

On one hand, it was to figure out what was going on with this world. On the other hand, it was to avoid the two elders at home. So after being discharged from the hospital, she basically never stayed home, spending all her time in the library.

She touched the bank cards under the pillow and couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. Humans are a very complicated animal. After getting along for a long time, one will eventually be moved by some inconspicuous things.

Family bonds come from interaction. Sometimes the role of blood ties in emotional relationships is not that significant, at most serving as a connection.

However, no matter how chaotic her mind was, Wang Zhao still forced herself to fall asleep.

She was a self-disciplined and restrained person, with arrangements for her usual schedule. Early the next morning, she still had to pick up Li Zhenguan to go to the hospital for a prenatal checkup, so no matter how messy her heart was, she made herself fall asleep.

This prenatal checkup was to diagnose whether the fetus had chromosomal disorders or deformities, also called an NT scan.

A few days ago, Li Zhenguan had told her, appearing worried. Even after Wang Zhao comforted him a few times, it wasn’t very effective.